49ers' Frank Gore, (21) picks up a first down in the fourth quarter as the San Francisco 49ers went on to beat the Carolina Panthers 23-10 in the NFC divisional playoffs in Charlotte, North Carolina on Sunday Jan. 12, 2014, at Bank of America stadium.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

49ers' Frank Gore, (21) picks up a first down in the fourth quarter...

Image 2 of 8

Frank Gore (21) gestures to the crowd before the start of the game as the 49ers play the Denver Broncos in the first preseason game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, August 17, 2014.

Running back Frank Gore, (21) talks with the news media as the San Francisco 49ers' veteran players reported to training camp today to prepare for the 2014 season at their practice facility in Santa Clara, Calif., as seen on Wednesday July 23, 2014.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Running back Frank Gore, (21) talks with the news media as the San...

Image 4 of 8

Frank Gore continues to ward off age and logs yet another 1,200-yard season on fewer carries as first-year players Carlos Hyde and/or Marcus Lattimore lighten Gore’s load. With a young, feisty Daniel Kilgore as the new center, the 49ers’ superlative offensive line maintains the cohesion from last season and provides time for Kaepernick and room for Gore.

Longtime 49er running back Frank Gore (21) smiled as he did stretches during the workout Tuesday June 3, 2014. The San Francisco 49ers held a spring practice at their facility in Santa Clara, Calif. near the new Levi stadium.

Before Oct. 2, 2011, Frank Gore had conquered poverty, dyslexia, a torn ACL in his left knee, a torn ACL in his right knee and a broken hip, but he didn't know how he'd overcome a severely sprained ankle to play that afternoon against the Eagles.

The 49ers' running back couldn't practice - heck, he could barely walk - in the days before kickoff. So he's still surprised that he morphed from injured to inspirational: Gore rushed for 127 yards, averaged 8.5 yards a carry and scored the winning touchdown in a 24-23 victory.

"It had to be God," Gore said, pausing a few beats before delivering a definitive answer. "It was God."

Gore's belief in a higher power is borne out of his odds-overcoming background: Plenty of atheists would find spirituality if they'd rushed for 9,967 yards in the NFL on knees that were surgically repaired in college. And Gore believes divine intervention doesn't merely account for his past exploits, but will explain his future accomplishments.

Even many of his fans - The Faithful - wonder if Gore's adversity-conquering days are over. His age (31), workload (the second-most carries - 2,187 - among active running backs) and recent stats (a career-low 4.1 yards a carry in 2013) suggest this is the season he, finally, gets flattened by Father Time.

Gore has faith he'll continue to produce at football's most punishing position.

"I think God built me different," he said. "I'm a different guy. I think I'm going to be fine."

The 49ers' actions suggest they have their doubts.

Before Gore embarked on his 10th season with the team that drafted him in 2005, he wasn't offered a contract extension. However, the 49ers did select Ohio State's Carlos Hyde in the second round in May.

Hyde, a hard runner who, at 235 pounds, has the frame to assume a lead-back workload, averaged 5.6 yards on 17 carries in the preseason. Running backs coach Tom Rathman said last week that the 49ers need to "manage" Gore this season to keep him fresh. Last year, he averaged 4.2 yards a carry in the first eight games, 3.9 in the final eight and 3.4 in the postseason.

So what if Hyde impresses in what could be a 10- to 12-carry-a-game role this season? You see where this could be headed. It's easy to envision the 49ers' career rushing leader passing on a diminished role in 2015 and becoming the franchise's latest treasured name to end his career elsewhere.

Gore has considered the possibility he'll follow the same path as Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott. And it has helped shape his goals for 2014, which involve winning his first Super Bowl title and showing 31 teams he'll still be going strong in 2015.

"If it had to come down to it and I wasn't here, that's just the business of it," Gore said. "And I understand that. But I still love it, and I'm feeling great and I want mine.

"This year, I'm playing for a Super Bowl and, also, if I'm not here (in 2015), I want to show the other teams what I can do. I would love to be here, though. I would love to stay here. I love it. It's all I know. They've been great to me."

Rathman, a former fullback, finished his nine-year NFL career with the Raiders after spending his first eight seasons with the 49ers. In 1994, the 49ers drafted fullback William Floyd in the first round, told Rathman he had to compete for his starting spot and offered him a contract that represented a significant pay cut.

With his pride punctured, Rathman signed with Los Angeles. This saying sayonara to stars, of course, isn't unique to the 49ers. Consider merely these running backs: Franco Harris had his last carry for the Seahawks, Emmitt Smith finished with Cardinals, and LaDainian Tomlinson ended his career with the Jets.

Gore?

"I don't know what's going to happen," Rathman said. "I don't have a crystal ball. I love Frank Gore, but Frank is going to have to make the best decision for him. ... Players have pride, so I think it's going to come into play with him. I do know this organization loves him."

This summer, fans seemed to sense this could the beginning of a goodbye. During three open practices at Levi's Stadium, Gore drew the biggest cheers. For jogging alone in an end zone. For running through the line, at half-speed, against air.

The cheers were a heartfelt thank you. Gore, the 49ers' longest-tenured offensive or defensive player, spent much of his career as the lone playmaker, on bad teams, in unimaginative offenses. He hasn't complained, but he clearly has cared: He first cried after an NFL loss as a rookie because he thought his teammates sloughed off failure too easily in the midst of a 4-12 season.

His heavy workload - and passion for stonewalling blitzing linebackers - explains his massive medical file: He has landed on the injury report with ailments involving his foot, hip, shoulder, ribs, head (concussion), shin, ankle, hand, eye, toe, wrist and knee ... and he has missed an average of 1.3 games a season.

He is, obviously, a survivor: Of the 24 running backs in his draft class, he's one of three still playing (Ronnie Brown and Darren Sproles are the others).

So what does he think those cheers have been all about?

"I've been here for a long time and I guess they think I'm looking great or something," Gore said, smiling. "I think they know what they're going to get from me. They know I'm going to try my best every Sunday. You never hear me complaining. I just go out and play football. I think people respect that."

He knows other people think he's done. During the course of a 20-minute interview, it's a subject he raises twice without prompting.

The is-Gore-too-old talk began in 2010, partly because, at 27, he had an injury generally associated with the elderly: a broken hip.

He has responded by ranking fourth in the NFL in rushing yards (3,553) since 2011 and playing in 56 of 56 games, including the playoffs.

"I'm not going to lie because I'm a competitive guy and it kind of does bother me when I hear 'Oh, he can't do this anymore,' " Gore said. "I've been hearing I can't do this all my life. And I love the challenge. I love to be challenged like that."

Indeed, Gore clearly hasn't lost touch with his chip-on-the-shoulder 22-year-old self. His ACL surgeries at Miami caused him to slip to third round of the draft and Sports Illustrated termed him the most overrated running back selected.

Gore, famously, can tick off the five running backs drafted before him and it wouldn't be surprising if he knew this: His seven 1,000-yard seasons are two more than those five other backs have combined to produce.

More than nine years later, he's nearing the end of his career with the same outlook he possessed before it began. In January 2005, shortly after his final college game, he heard the skeptics but was certain he'd succeed in the NFL.

And he knew he wouldn't do it alone.

"With God on my side," he said, "I know I'm going to be all right."

The Not-Over-the-Hill Gang

Running backs who were at least 31 years old before embarking on a 1,000-yard season (Frank Gore turned 31 on May 14):